'The liquidator shall endeavour to sale the company as a going concern within a period of 90 days,' says NCLT in its order
In May, the High Court granted interim bail to Goyal for a period of two months which was later extended by four weeks and then again for two months.
Retail shareholders held a 19.29 percent stake in the grounded airline as on September 30. At the current market capitalisation, their holding is worth Rs 74.6 crore
The apex court allowed appeal by State Bank of India and other creditors; bank guarantee of Rs 150 crore submitted by JKC was also forfeited
The NCLAT had on March 12 upheld the resolution plan of the grounded air carrier and approved the transfer of its ownership to the JKC.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on March 12 had upheld the resolution plan of the grounded air carrier and approved the transfer of its ownership to the consortium.
SpiceJet has been struggling financially since the past few quarters due to legal disputes involving outstanding debts to lenders, aircraft and engine lessors among other issues.
Jet Airways, which stopped flying in April 2019 due to financial crunch, is undergoing an insolvency resolution process.
JKC chose to withdraw the plea after the appellate tribunal opined that it was not inclined to entertain the plea. NCLAT opined that JKC could not have filed an application before it while an appeal against its order is pending in the Supreme Court.
Michael Koish, Chief Investment Officer of Challenges Airlines, which won the bid for three of Jet Airways' Boeing 777-300 aircraft, told Moneycontrol that the bankrupt airline's monitoring committee has become unresponsive despite court orders to hand over possession of the aircraft.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for JKC vehemently denied these allegations. According to Rohatgi, JKC never availed the offer made by the lenders since they were anyway supposed to make a payment of Rs. 350 crore. Rohatgi also argued that JKC has spent Rs. 700 crore so far in trying to revive the airline despite the lenders objecting to every move they make.
Naresh Goyal had sought bail citing his and wife's cancer treatment, who he said was in a critical condition.
According to the plea, accessed by Moneycontrol, Ace is compelled to file the plea owing to the monitoring committee's delayed and non-co-operative actions regarding the sale of certain aircraft of Jet Airways.
Naresh Goyal has sought interim bail on medical and humanitarian grounds, citing that both he and his wife, Anita Goyal, suffered from cancer.
Though the court was inclined to issue notice in the case, the ASG urged the court to finish hearing the case and pass an order rather then issuing notice now and keeping it pending. The SC, accordingly, has kept the case for hearing on Friday (April 26).
Both Jet Airway ex-CEO designate Sanjiv Kapoor and Anand Mahindra, however, reached a mutual understanding after a few clarifications on X.
The court had, in February 2024, denied interim bail to Goyal when he sought relief on the ground that he was suffering from cancer.
Jet Airways has gained 11 percent over the past five trading sessions on the news of the resolution plan being approved
The appellate tribunal has directed lenders to effect the transfer in 90 days, and told the consortium to procure an air operator's certificate with in this window.
Airlines in India have to deal with various costs such as high jet fuel prices, high leasing costs, (Indian airlines pay annual lease rents of about Rs 10,000 crores to lessors) and several charges to airport operators, such as separate charges for landing, route navigation, parking, terminal, fuel, and royalty.
Three aircrafts belonging to the grounded airline are to be sold to a Malta based company called Ace Aviation.
Jet Airways, which was grounded in 2019 amid mounting financial vows. State Bank of India (SBI) its largest lender initiated insolvency proceedings against the company in NCLT Mumbai and the company was admitted to insolvency resolution process the same year. In 2021, JKC emerged as the successful resolution applicant to re-commence the operations of the airline.
Naresh Goyal's lawyer Aabad Ponda submitted the reports confirming that he had malignancy and added that there would be no further treatment available for him in jail and his client had every right to undergo treatment at a private hospital.
The consortium in its application had said that if the court permits the release of the existing bank guarantee, the amount will be infused to the designated share application account of the lenders.
The court has held that in case JKC does not furnish the bank guarantee, the consequences of law will follow. The NCLAT will now have to decide the appeal by State Bank of India challenging the transfer of Jet Airways' ownership to JKC by end of March 2024.